Waintrop to head Directors’ Fortnight

New topper reshaped Fribourg fest

Edouard Waintrop is taking the helm of the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight as artistic director.

The French Directors’ Guild tapped him to replace Frederic Boyer, who ankled in June after criticism about his selection.

A former film journo at Gallic paper Liberation, Waintrop was artistic director of the Fribourg Film Festival in Switzerland for four years before becoming topper of Geneva’s Grutli cinema chain in April. He now runs Liberation’s Cinoque film blog.

At Fribourg, Waintrop made waves when he selected bigger-budgeted, mainstream pics like Jackie Chan-starrer “Little Big Soldier” as opener.

Waintrop told Swiss newspaper Le Temps in March that he directed Fribourg toward the type of festivals he’s always favored: “The ones where you can see good films of all kinds, where everyone can find something they like — that corresponds to my ‘cinephilie,’ which goes from classic Hollywood cinema to the farthest new waves.”